Journal of Materials Science, Vol.46, No.22, 7319-7327, 2011
Effect of Sn addition on microstructure and dry sliding wear behaviors of hypereutectic aluminum-silicon alloy A390
In this study, the effect of Sn addition on the microstructure and dry sliding wear behaviors of as-cast and heat-treated hypereutectic A390 alloys was investigated. The microstructural features of the alloys were characterized by means of optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques and their wear characteristics were evaluated at different loads. The worn morphologies of the wear surface were examined by SEM. The results show that the beta-Sn in as-cast A390 alloy precipitates mainly in the form of particles within the Al(2)Cu network on the interface of the eutectic silicon and alpha-Al phases and the grain boundaries of alpha-Al phase. The addition of Sn promotes the disintegrating and spheroidizing of both the eutectic and primary silicon of the A390 alloy during solid solution-aging treatment and beta-Sn phase grains coalesces and grows, and some of them form the structure of Sn wrapping Si. The wear rates and friction factors of the as-cast and heat-treated A390 alloys with Sn are lower than those without Sn. At lower load, the addition of Sn changes the wear mechanism of as-cast A390 alloy from the combination of abrasive and adhesive wear without Sn into a single mild abrasion wear with Sn; at higher load, the wear of as-cast A390 alloy without Sn includes abrasion, adhesive, and fatigue one, while the addition of Sn effectively restrains the net-like cracks on the worn surface of the alloy and avoids the fatigue wear emerged.